Today we honor the man, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the work he accomplished in the 1960’s.   I remember viewing his “I have a dream” speech on television as a young woman. I especially recall his words about looking forward rather than back.  To be truly free, we must put the past behind us, yet our past gives us lessons for the future.

The world has changed tremendously since Dr. King gave this address to a divided nation.  However some things have remained the same.  There still is injustice within our country.  Prejudice still remains and new divisions have occurred in the last 50 years.  Terrorism has reared its ugly head. New cells are breaking out everywhere.  Because of that we’ve all lost part of the freedom that our nation has shed so much blood to preserve.

We have to be careful what we say – how we respond to other cultures, ideas and beliefs – being so politically correct that our own faith is often placed on the line.  Have we really stopped looking back?  I think not.  We are probably now more afraid than ever that we might offend someone – that we no longer have the freedom to stand up for what we believe is right.

I think Dr. King would have been deeply offended at the change that has occurred in our country.  His words of tolerance and peace have been tarnished to include tolerance of any kind of behavior.  To be truly free, we need to look forward.  Our destiny is not going to be determined by anything we do.  It has already been set by the Creator of the universe.  God is in control and the death and resurrection of His Son has set the entire world free from the sting of sin and death.  We are ALL free at last.  

To soar with the eagles no matter how high,
To reach all my goals or at least I can try,
To try and to fail but never give up,
to turn to my God to fill my cup,
To speak what I feel without fear of dissension,
To believe what I choose without intervention,
To live without fear and to follow my dreams,
To love and be loved with a peace that redeems.
The only thing needful for freedom that’s true
Is to love one another as Jesus loved you.

POETRY “FREEDOM RINGS,” by Kathy Boecher